Topic: 2016 Indian Chief Dark Horse (Read 11939 times)

Fired00d · « **on:** February 13, 2015, 06:55:29 PM »

Don't hate the messenger

- Indian Motorcycle Introduces First Model Year 2016, the Indian Chief Dark Horse

Ride Safe,
Fired00d

dayne66 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 13, 2015, 07:03:58 PM »

Way too fugly for me.

Black Diamond · « **Reply #2 on:** February 13, 2015, 08:00:07 PM »

I'd like to see one. So far they need to be more finished but they have some interesting lines. i hope they succeed and give Harley some true competition.

JW

Craigisdad · « **Reply #3 on:** February 13, 2015, 08:03:52 PM »

Sorry, not for me

gadgetz · « **Reply #4 on:** February 13, 2015, 08:12:23 PM »

butt ugly ride.

ummm did I say that out loud?

Chains · « **Reply #5 on:** February 13, 2015, 08:16:44 PM »

Looks like a Kawasaki painted matte black.

SanJuanRon · « **Reply #6 on:** February 13, 2015, 08:35:08 PM »

Ugh! SJ Ron

SDCVO · « **Reply #7 on:** February 13, 2015, 11:55:19 PM »

Sorry but just not getting the whole "Indian" thing. I want too but just cant

skycat · « **Reply #8 on:** February 14, 2015, 02:50:19 AM »

Not my cupa tea

FXD_TG · « **Reply #9 on:** February 14, 2015, 09:01:05 AM »

I continue to be baffled by the Victory / Indian styling philosophy, but perhaps I'm simply not the target audience.

As others have said, the Dark Horse is definitely not my cup of tea. I appreciate the original Indians for what they are: a snapshot in time of what was at its time great styling. The fusion of those orginal styling lines and features like fender skirts with the newer engine and component shapes is just not something that I find at all attractive. Pretty much all of the Indian's fall into this trap.

Of course, I'm also one of those people who thought BMW nailed the perfect sport touring look with it's 2004 R1150RT and then lost their minds and "Bangled" the RT by removing the subtle contours with sharp edges and a frontal view that looked like an owl. Of course, an owl is a hell of a lot better than Bozo the clown!

Hmm, this all has the makings of a blog entry...

D-N-D · « **Reply #10 on:** February 14, 2015, 09:04:55 AM »

Not for me !!!

Ghost__Rider · « **Reply #11 on:** February 14, 2015, 10:43:41 AM »

To each their own..........Not saying HD is better, but that's just not my thing.

CVODON · « **Reply #12 on:** February 14, 2015, 11:54:29 AM »

Awful, just awful. What a ugly price of crap. Still not sure why anyone calls these Indians. They went out business 62 years ago. Kind of like me and a buddy building a look-a-like 60 Bonneville and calling it a Pontiac?

2 ROSE · « **Reply #13 on:** February 14, 2015, 03:55:55 PM »

Yeah I agree with all of the above comments. They might be cool to test ride but thats about it for me. None of them touch the soul. If they ever want to cut into the MoCo sales then they better look into a complete redesign. Maybe give me a CVO looking model with all the bling made in the USA, with high quality materials and craftsmanship that sounds like a Harley with a knock my socks off warranty and customer service for a better price than the MoCo then maybe they will have something.
Otherwise I think they are just wasting their time.

StreetDog · « **Reply #14 on:** February 14, 2015, 10:33:06 PM »

I hope this is not a trend to go black or that blacked out look in the motorcycle market. I LIKE CHROME!!!!!

FLSTFI Dave · « **Reply #15 on:** February 15, 2015, 09:08:01 PM »

Not a fan of flat black or denim, however I really like the looks of it.

I think it would look much better in gloss black, with all the rest black like it is.

I hope Indian gets more and more successful and popular, and eats into Harley sales. Then just maybe Harley will up the quality and deliver a product where everything works.

Classic example is a head unit on the bikes now, for 20 months sill does not work as designed. Buddies Indian head unit all features work, for much less money than my 40K CVO.

mark · « **Reply #16 on:** February 15, 2015, 10:01:59 PM »

OK, I get having one or two retro models with fender skirts and 1950s styling. But those models only appeal to a small segment. Even HD quit producing springers and the RK Classic, so obviously those models didn't sell well enough. If in the market for a retro, an Indian Chief or Vintage would make a great choice. However, the only other model they produce that has any curb appeal is the Scout. The Dark Horse, in what has become Indian's default styling, is just another co-mingled "retro-modern" bike that doesn't know what it wants to be, just like their baggers.

DesertHOG · « **Reply #17 on:** February 15, 2015, 11:35:57 PM »

That Chief Dark Horse looks like it came out of a WWII movie. And it looks really uncomfortable too.
Agree with Mark .. too much retro for me.

Lars · « **Reply #18 on:** February 16, 2015, 11:30:29 AM »

Quote from: Chains on February 13, 2015, 08:16:44 PM

Looks like a Kawasaki painted matte black.

I agree, and I wonder, are the fenders metal or plastic?
I will admit it is not as ugly as the full dresser, IMHO.

Rooster · « **Reply #19 on:** February 16, 2015, 09:29:40 PM »

I agree the looks just aren't there, but so far Indian and Victory got HD beat for reliability and you don't have to start spending money to get it to run right out of the gate just so the stock holders can be happy.

Honneybeast · « **Reply #20 on:** February 16, 2015, 11:22:01 PM »

I know this is an unpopular opinion but I don't care , I like the look. Not going to run out and buy one but I like all the same. … ok let me have it

Lars · « **Reply #21 on:** February 16, 2015, 11:31:30 PM »

To each their own.
Somebody has to like them or they would go out of business.
Oh yeah, I forgot, we are talking about Indian aren't we!!!

North Georgia Hawg · « **Reply #22 on:** February 17, 2015, 01:29:37 AM »

This thing just reinforces the saying that there are only two kinds of motorcycles... Harley motorcycles and non-Harley motorcycles.

Indian's styling just keeps getting fuglier and fuglier! They just don't seem to get what a beautiful motorcycle should look like.

That thing may run like a top... but I would never buy it.

Ken

SBB · « **Reply #23 on:** February 17, 2015, 09:20:54 AM »

Quote from: North Georgia Hawg on February 17, 2015, 01:29:37 AM

That thing may run like a top... but I would never buy it.

Ken

For me, I think it's great!
I hope it sells like crazy.
I hope Harley notices that it is selling like crazy and those damn bean counters (sorry Travis) notice.
Competition is great, even bad competition, even ugly competition.
Like Ken, I will never buy one but I do think the Indians are great bikes.
Just not for me.

SBB

RayG · « **Reply #24 on:** February 17, 2015, 09:48:15 AM »

I have to agree with hoping it's a huge success. I seriously hope Victory and Indian have the best year ever and wish them continued success. I'm for anything that will make for some sweating for Harley, hurting the pocket book is unlikely but it will be the only motivating force to have a company build a better product. Good topic!

OlDog · « **Reply #25 on:** February 17, 2015, 10:08:11 AM »

As has been mentioned...each to his own. Personally, I love the look. Went through the Indian website customizing tool and dressed it up a bit. Turned into something I would certainly take a serious look at. The only thing holding me back is, well nothing except not in the market right now.

GregKhougaz · « **Reply #26 on:** February 17, 2015, 10:54:18 AM »

You don't have to buy the bike. You could just swap for a free t-shirt: Switch Your Gear Offer By Indian Motorcycle.

2 ROSE · « **Reply #27 on:** February 17, 2015, 01:17:40 PM »

Quote from: SBB on February 17, 2015, 09:20:54 AM

For me, I think it's great!
I hope it sells like crazy.
I hope Harley notices that it is selling like crazy and those damn bean counters (sorry Travis) notice.
Competition is great, even bad competition, even ugly competition.
Like Ken, I will never buy one but I do think the Indians are great bikes.
Just not for me.

SBB

From the comments here it appears Polaris is producing motorcycles that not a lot of people find attractive. The Victory has metric written all over its looks. Indian has a look that makes you feel like you have traveled back in time, both of which have their place and may develop a small niche in the market but will never seriously put a bite into MoCo sales.
There are many motorcycles out there that out preform Harleys in any/all aspects of industry standards, but it has been shown for decades, if it ain't pretty, baddass and sound great then we ain't buying it. But what the MoCo has that Indian/Victory does not have is a continuing history which no motorcycle company present or future will never match. Thus far with its latest crop of bikes Indian has missed the target on what the mainstream riders want. Plus they have a long way to go in proving their reliability and customer service...but hell, the MoCo has proved that if you make something the people want, reliability and customer service is not all that important.
Good healthy competition would be great, but as long as Indian/Victory continue to make a motorcycle the mainstream buyers, namely us, do not like/want the MoCo has nothing to fear.

ultrarider123 · « **Reply #28 on:** February 17, 2015, 02:12:21 PM »

I'm not a flat paint fan....motorcycles should be shiny IMO.

As for the bike, I like it. ANY competition for HD is good (again, my opinion) but I enjoy the retro look of the Indian. I'm hoping the Indian/Polaris train runs many, many years. Our K'ville HD dealer just opened the K'ville Indian dealership. I'm actually looking forward to some seat time on a couple of the models as comparison.

And as far as owning one, I'd be happy to have one of the new Indians in the garage....

VaEagle · « **Reply #29 on:** February 17, 2015, 02:15:20 PM »

Lots of interesting comments have been made in this thread.
Thought I would add my .02 (maybe .04).
I do find it interesting that some feel the Indian brand is too old fashioned and styling should be updated....when H-D owners get upset over changes to the 1936 design of our motors, bags, tanks, sound etc. I think H-D is selling on nostalgia too just like Indian, it just has larger manufacturing numbers and the monstrous PR in the dealerships and collectibles as well as the HOG family atmosphere. Just think how competition would be if Indian made as many t-shirts etc. and put on as many charity rides and had Indian Owners club meetings with all the paraphernalia....
I have never ridden a new Indian or Victory but I see a place for them and consider Indian as the nostalgia branch of Polaris and Victory as the modern bike division.
I do read many times of Harley owners having to spend thousands of dollars to get their bikes to run right (cooler) and handle better. Maybe Indian is just too new and too few to see much in writing but I don't see where the Indians need thousands of dollars of mods just to run right. So maybe Indian has found a way to have old styling with modern dependability?
Harley does have the advantage of continuous production so many of us buy them out of old memories of our grandfathers/fathers/uncles etc. giving us our first motorcycle rides. I do wonder what the children or grandchildren of sport bike riders will want in a few years?

FLSTFI Dave · « **Reply #30 on:** February 19, 2015, 08:41:20 AM »

Quote from: North Georgia Hawg on February 17, 2015, 01:29:37 AM

This thing just reinforces the saying that there are only two kinds of motorcycles... Harley motorcycles and non-Harley motorcycles.

Ken

Which is exactly why Harley puts out motorcycles with piss poor quality and reliability. Lets see, head unit is now 19 months into its production run and is still full of issues. Cooling systems loose coolant at 40 degrees out side. Lifters fail before 45K miles, along with many other parts. Crappy suspension and the list goes on.

However we keep buying this crap because nothing LOOKS better. Just about everything RUNS better.

Phantom309 · « **Reply #31 on:** February 24, 2015, 02:49:25 AM »

Looks just as fugly as the rest of their bikes. This one sums it up perfectly ...

If they keep up all this fugliness they will go out of business for the 3rd or 4th time ... I lost count.

Dr.D · « **Reply #32 on:** February 25, 2015, 02:28:47 PM »

Quote from: FLSTFI Dave on February 19, 2015, 08:41:20 AM

However we keep buying this crap because nothing LOOKS better. Just about everything RUNS better.

Just like being married to a super model. It don't matter if she's a bitch, she looks good.

Oh and I am not married to any such woman.

RAINEY · « **Reply #33 on:** March 13, 2015, 08:59:23 AM »

I'm just not a fan of the skirted fenders. I guess you could mod them thought.

Jason

Author Topic: 2016 Indian Chief Dark Horse (Read 11939 times)

FXD_TG

mark

ultrarider123